It's One Smoothie Of A Trip

GOBA RIDERS enjoy a little flattop on the trip Thursday to Mount Vernon, which again included its share of hills, up and down. Wendy Cassidy photo

To get to the smoothie stop.

Aahhh, the smoothie. For $2, the reward, the refreshment, the really tasty frozen treat can all be yours, if you're riding on GOBA.

The smoothie comes in three flavors: strawberry, banana or strawberry-banana. The smoothie is completing its second year on the tour, and people already treat it like a time-honored tradition.

Saturday night, at the fairgrounds in Ashland, groups could be heard nearly shouting. "Oh! The smoothie truck is here already! I hear they're going to be with us all week!"

Sharon and Randy Justice, of Bellville, hit other fairs and festivals around Ohio, but say that GOBA has fast become their favorite.

"Last year, we had an old truck that didn't even have a roof. We had one blender and two people. Now we have two blenders and five people," Sharon Justice said.

The smoothie people move themselves to a different location along the route each day. Judith Hahn, a smoothie maker, HAM radio operator and GOBA photographer, plants the motivational signs about two miles out.

"They always know, when they see a hill, they're looking for our signs," Hahn said.

About a week before the ride, the smoothie crew stakes out the route and asks permission of property owners to plant the truck there for the day.

Riders will usually find the truck at the top of say, a climb lasting 2.5 miles, with smoothie signs about every half mile along the way.

"We'd have a riot if we ran out," Hahn said.

The smoothie is but one of the many highlights along the road for cyclists every day.

Bikers bike to see things they miss in a car. Each day holds an adventure, something new to discover.

Wednesday, for example, riders came across a small garden in toilet bowls. In each of the two bowls, marigolds were planted. Surrounding the porcelain were small painted ceramic squirrels.

Earlier in the day, all riders passed a possum turned road kill. One early rider, however, had bigger plans, placing with the freshly-dead animal a Power Bar and water bottle.

Riders were warned ahead of time to mind the traffic signs in Lexington. Officers were ticketing for rolling stops.

At the end of the day, it's all about the ride. Cyclists fight hills and then give them names like Revenge and Locust, and they thrill at a 40 mph coast down the other side.

The "rides" are what GOBA veterans talk about like golfers talk about holes.

Just get one started. "Remember that day, what was it, about a hundred degrees outside. I thought we'd never make it up that hill ..."